


The Meaning Of Pack

by ladyoneill



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Biting, F/M, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Pack Bonding, Pack Building, Pack Dynamics, Werewolf Turning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-02
Updated: 2013-07-02
Packaged: 2017-12-16 20:23:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/866241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyoneill/pseuds/ladyoneill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter's an Alpha again and he needs a Pack.  Derek's Pack is barely together and Peter knows the smart thing for Derek to do would be to cede his Betas and his Alpha power to his uncle, who has the training and disposition Derek sorely lacks.  But Derek refuses, and Peter needs Betas.  Sane and in control, more powerful than he was before and no longer driven by the need for revenge, he has one Beta with one command.  He needs two more.  One will keep his first turned Pack.  The second...well, he always wanted that one as a wolf.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Meaning Of Pack

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Peter disappears after the Jackson-died-and-then-came-back-to-life incident, then reappears as an Alpha, and he's intent on beginning his own pack. Derek flat out refuses to give up his Alpha status and submit, so Peter decides to start with the humans in Derek's pack. Now Stiles and Allison are werewolves and have to contend with the pull from their Alpha from when they were humans and the Alpha who turned them (and maybe Scott too since Peter originally turned him).
> 
> The dubious consent is NOT sexual; it's forced biting/turning. This story completely got away from me. My own fanon on pack dynamics, Alphas, Peter's previous mate are included, and I think I kept close to the prompt. Be aware that Peter/Stiles is a slow build to barely kissing and hints of what's to come, and there are mentions that Derek/Stiles might have been a possibility. From Stiles' POV and ignores all of season 3. Set right after school ends in Season 2 with Erica and Boyd back in Derek's Pack and Jackson reluctantly there as well. The first bit is in the present and then we go back to the past to see how we got there.

Curling up with his Alpha on their large and comfortable bed, Stiles closes his eyes and listens to his heart beating, evenly, calmly. Expanding his senses he hears his other pack mates' hearts. Lydia and Jackson, Scott and Allison, all sleeping peacefully in their own rooms, hearts slow and at peace.

He's the only one awake, his mind still going a mile a minute. Becoming a werewolf didn't cure his ADHD, only taught him better control, better focus, but he still has trouble sleeping and remembering to eat.

His Alpha never does, though, bringing him to the table or the bed when he needs it.

And, after that first tumultuous month, they found the time to relax and just be Pack. No longer running terrified through the woods every night or staying up all hours researching, Stiles has time for a normal schedule which helps with his attention and hyperactivity problems.

Despite being a werewolf.

Stiles no longer resents his Alpha for turning him against his will. None of them do. He's taught them so much. He cares for them so much.

He's changed so much.

One of the reasons Stiles shares his bed for more than just sleeping.

Also, the older wolf is smoking hot and does this thing with his tongue that drives Stiles wild.

"You're thinking too much."

Stiles smiles against the chest he's reclining on and glides a seeking hand down over the taut stomach and into the waistband of pajama pants. "Distract me."

There's a wolfish grin thrown his way before Peter drags him into a heated kiss.

~~~~~

"Let me go!" Stiles's struggles, his beating on Peter's back as the werewolf loped into the forest carrying him over one shoulder, earned him a hard swat on his ass. "Pervert! Why the fuck did you come back? We were all so much happier when you slunk out of town, tail between your legs."

"You amuse me, Stiles, you really do. That's one of the reasons you're going to be mine."

Stiles flushed at the implications, then grunted as Peter leapt a creek, driving the air from his lungs. "Pretty sure I'm not," he forced out through gritted teeth when he could finally breathe enough to speak.

The hand that had smacked him was now resting on his ass and the blood was no longer rushing solely to his face. "I'm sixteen. That'd happen if anyone touched my ass."

Peter chuckled.

"I have wolfsbane bullets and know how to use them!"

"And where are they?"

Well, back in his room and while he knew how to shoot and was pretty good, his dad wasn't about to give him a gun, but that wasn't the point.

He was still trying to come up with a good retort when they broke into the clearing where the ruins of the Hale House stood.

"Ah, there you are, nephew. Still lurking around the old homestead, I see."

"What are you doing back?" Derek growled, and Stiles tried to swivel his head to see him, but then was dumped hard on the ground.

"Ow! Watch it, asshole."

Red eyes flashed at him and they weren't Derek's.

Stiles was no longer simply worried and ticked off.

He was terrified.

"How the Hell...?"

Peter grinned down at him then strolled towards Derek. Rolling to his hands and knees, Stiles saw that the younger Alpha was flanked by the three amigos. Jackson hung back on the porch, glaring at the world.

"Derek, he knocked out Scott and Allison at my house," Stiles yelled. "He's an Alpha again."

Derek's facial expression didn't change but the Betas exchanged worried looks.

Peter stopped a few feet in front of them and opened his arms expressively. "No welcome home?"

"I figured it was only a matter of time before you killed another Alpha for their power."

"To be fair, he was old and wanted to die. He was just looking for a successor. You remember George McManus from down in Santa Barbara, right?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Derek's face. "Aunt Chloe's father?"

Peter's stance changed and Stiles felt a prickle of fear as he pushed himself to his feet. "Once he heard I was whole again, he asked me to visit and I knew I was his back up plan. You know he was going to pass it to her, but, thanks to you, she died six years ago," he said icily.

Obviously uncomfortable, but used to the blame, Derek shifted slightly and folded his arms over his chest. "What do you want, Peter?"

"Why, I want a pack. No, I need one, and here you have one you have no clue what to do with, so I'm going to ask you just once, surrender your pack to me, join me as the Beta you should still be, and we'll be one big happy family."

Despite that coming off very smarmy, Stiles could tell he was also being sincere and that really worried him.

And, who was Aunt Chloe?

...

Peter's wife?

With a roar of denial, Derek leapt for his uncle's throat and Stiles scrambled a safe distance away as they started to fight with claws, fangs and fists. 

As he watched the brutal fight and the circling Betas, his mind whirled with the implications. So...Peter hadn't murdered someone for the power? It was a legitimate exchange? If true, that made him much stronger, much more stable than Derek, even without a pack. His research on pack dynamics had taught him that much.

He didn't know an Alpha could give up his pack and revert to Beta, though. Damn, Derek had to stop keeping shit from him!

As Derek flew towards him from an uppercut to the chin, Stiles scrambled away again, and the four Betas attacked Peter.

That was futile. They were quickly tossed aside by Peter--Isaac unconscious, Jackson with a broken leg, Boyd bleeding from the stomach. Erica was only shaken and, as he dove back into the struggle with his uncle, Derek ordered her to get Scott.

As Boyd struggled to his feet to aid his Alpha, Peter pinned Derek to the ground and the skies opened up with the heavy storm that had been brewing all day. 

"Surrender your pack, Derek, and I'll allow you to remain my First Beta."

"Fuck you," Derek spat and Peter casually backhanded him.

"Language, nephew. Your mother would be so disappointed."

"In you, you fucking shithead!" 

Laughing, Peter kicked him hard in the side, then turned back to Stiles. "Convince your Alpha to give me what I want before I kill his Betas, Stiles."  
Shivering from the cold rain and the fear the ultimatum brought, Stiles shook his head, which brought Peter to him. A hard, painful hand gripped the back of his neck, dragging him to his toes. 

"If he doesn't surrender his pack, I'll make my own," he said, voice silky and heavy with promise at the same time.

"Let him go," Derek roared, charging his uncle which sent Stiles flying to the now muddy ground where he lay panting from terror.

Once upon a time Peter had offered the bite.

Stiles didn't think it would be offered this time.

Rain pounding down on him, too scared to get up, he watched in horror as Peter, eyes flashing that terrifying red, swiped thick, deadly claws at Derek, sending him flying against the edge of the half-rotted porch of the Hale House.

With a grunt of pain, Derek collapsed, gasping for air, bleeding heavily from the punctures to his lungs. Boyd rushed to his side, crouching over him, golden eyes flashing at the other advancing Alpha as a growl of warning broke from him.

Obviously amused, Peter smiled and stopped a few feet from his fallen nephew. "Derek, Derek, just give up. You were never meant to be an Alpha."

As Derek was coughing up blood, Stiles was the one to bite out, "Neither were you," then he silently cursed himself for bringing Peter's attention back to him as he was at his side almost immediately, crouched down, one hand wrapping in the front of his torn, soaked shirt.

"Oh, but you're wrong there, Stiles. I was born with the potential. It simply went to my sister on the death of our father. Derek was not born with it." Stiles followed his eyes back to the young Alpha who was trying to climb to his feet with the aid of Boyd and the now conscious Isaac. "It's why he's struggled so hard and failed so often."

"What...what are you talking about?" Grabbing Peter's wrist, Stiles tried to pull free of him, but Peter simply shoved him down harder. A howl sounded from the tree line and Stiles breathed a sigh of relief.

Scott. He was okay. Peter had appeared out of nowhere in Stiles' backyard, knocked out Scott and Allison before they could think to attack, and grabbed him to drag him here as, what, a witness?

That had been...oh fuck, only twenty five minutes ago?

Peter tsked at him and gave him a hard shake. "You'll learn soon enough." Dropping Stiles, he dodged as Jackson dove for him, causing the Beta to land heavily on the human boy, driving the air from his lungs.

As he lay there gasping, black dots spreading across his vision, Scott burst into the clearing alongside Erica. Jackson was up and attacking as well leaving Stiles to roll onto his side and vomit up the skittles and seven-up he'd had earlier, before the kidnaping and storm and whatever the fuck was going on. Tilting his aching head he caught some rain in his mouth and rinsed it out, spitting, then, wiping a shaking hand across his face, staggered from the pool of vomit. Wolfed out and furious, Scott ran to his side.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Peter's an Alpha."

"Shit." 

Erica flew past them to jump on Peter's back, clawing at his face, but he threw her aside as if she was a flea and her back hit a tree trunk, curling around it and snapping. She howled in agony and Isaac scrambled to her side.

"Help Derek," Stiles forced out, the fear in him nearly overwhelming him. Peter was winning so easily and there was no coordination in Derek's rag tag pack.

Turning with a growl, claws extended, Scott ran towards Peter.

Who spun, held out a hand and barked,"Stop."

Scott stumbled to a halt, and fell to his knees at Peter's feet, shaking from head to foot. Even through the heavy rain, Stiles could see the Alpha smirk down at his first bitten.

First bitten.

Shit, no.

Slipping again to his knees, Stiles felt panic hit and he gasped viciously for air. He couldn't fall apart!

But they weren't going to win.

Peter was stronger. Peter's Alpha wolf was stronger. And he was Scott's Alpha. Scott, who was trembling so hard and clawing at the mud and grass beneath him, trapped by one word.

Derek howled in fury and his Betas growled and whined in confusion.

"Let. Me. Go," Scott bit out, his fangs tearing into his own lips as he struggled against his Alpha's command.

Stumbling over to join his friend and carefully touch his shaking shoulder, Stiles wasn't surprised that Scott didn't attack him or even growl at him, just stilled, although his eyes were full of fear. They were Pack.

"Please let him go, Peter," Stiles pled softly.

"No."

Shoulders slumping, he wrapped his arms around Scott, who collapsed against him.

"I don't understand," his best friend whined, still wolfed out.

"He's your Alpha."

"No."

"Let them both go, Peter," Derek demanded, standing again, though still bleeding, and flanked by Jackson and Boyd as Isaac tended to Erica and her obviously broken back.

"Surrender your pack to me, Derek, or I'll make my own."

Stiles felt Derek's eyes on him and looked up. From the look on the Alpha's face, it was obvious he wouldn't give up, and he couldn't rightly blame him, though he had a feeling this was all going to end very badly...and that he'd wake up with fangs and fur in the morning.

"Beacon Hills isn't big enough for two packs. You're declaring war."

"So dramatic," Peter snorted. "We'll see, nephew. I don't want to kill you and take your Betas. So, I'll give you some time to reconsider."

"I won't."

Rolling his eyes, Peter looked down at the two teenagers huddled at his feet. "Scott, Stiles, come."

Scott was on his feet immediately and Stiles was only a few seconds slower.

"Stiles, you don't have..."

Interrupting Derek with a shake of his head, Stiles placed a hand on Scott's shoulder again, "Scott's always been my priority."

"He'll turn you," Jackson growled.

"Then he'll get my ADHD, smart mouth, and rebellious nature." Stiles tried to smile, felt it fall flat, then looked at Peter, promising, "You'll regret it."

"I regretted not turning you that night in the garage. If I hadn't accepted your refusal, I doubt I would have spent a month dead and none of this would be necessary."

"None of it's necessary now. Why didn't you just stay with that pack in Santa Barbara?"

"Beacon Hills is my home. It's hard enough taking over a strange pack, but taking over a strange territory with no wolves of your own at the same time is almost impossible. Once I have all of you, I could go back there, but George only had two elderly Betas who married into his pack, and they returned to their original packs, and to be frank, I was here first and I'm claiming this territory."

"Do you really think my mother would have wanted that?" Derek snarled, hands clenching into fists.

"Do you really think she would have wanted this mess you've made?" Peter snapped back, then, in complete disregard, turned his back on the Hale Pack and walked away. "Boys!"

Obviously unable to resist, Scott stumbled after him and, with one last look at Derek, Stiles followed him.

The rain stopped and the sun came out.

*****

Peter had a huge house in Lydia's neighborhood--therefore, the rich part of town. It sat on two acres, well back from the street and surrounded by a stone wall. The interior was elegantly decorated although sparsely furnished.

"I just moved in a few days ago," was his explanation as he took off his muddy shoes, looked at the boys until they did the same, then took the two upstairs to an empty bedroom with an attached bathroom. "Scott, stay here."

Scott glared and trembled, but stayed in the room when the Alpha took Stiles' arm and tugged him back into the hall, closing the door behind them.

"He can just jump out of the window."

"Which is why I'm not bothering with locking the door, but this is a test to see if I can concentrate on the bond and keep him here while I'm busy with you. Though I doubt he'll leave you here." 

The master bedroom was furnished in dark woods, blues and creams. When Peter released him, Stiles immediately ran to the other side of the bed, putting it between them which made him feel like a scared virgin facing despoiling.

"You don't want to do this, Peter."

"Oh, I'm sure I do." Grinning, he circled the bed and Stiles looked around frantically for any escape.

As usual, his only defense was his words. "I won't fall in line. You think Scott's stubborn? I'm a hundred times worse. And I'll never kill a person for you."

Peter sighed. "I admit it was a mistake to try to force Scott to do that, but I was insane at the time. The problem is that since I didn't cement the pack bond with him through a hunt and kill and a lot of touching and teaching, he's become uppity. You'll never have that chance."

"I was born uppity!"

Peter's laughter threw him and he wasn't prepared for the lunge that had him in the Alpha's grip and then shoved onto his stomach on the bed, which put way too many bad thoughts in his head. Stiles squirmed and yelled and hit back at the man pinning him, but it was too easy for him to rip the side of his still damp shirt away, baring his waist and back.

"No! Peter, please! Please, I don't want this."

"And you're not lying this time," the wolf said softly, almost sorrowfully, but it didn't stop him.

Huge fangs pierced Stiles' skin and he screamed in pain before a black wave hit him and he passed out.

*****

It was dark out when Stiles awoke and it took him a few minutes to recall what had happened. When he did, he felt both stinging pain from the bite, and a heavy arm around his chest. He was on his side facing the windows, a light blanket over his hips, and his shirt was gone. His wet jeans were gone, too.

And Peter was holding him, claws pricking at his skin when he tried to pull away, large hands dragging him hard against him, and the wolf was shirtless, too. The sheet was tangled between their legs so Stiles couldn't tell if the older man was naked and... 

For a moment terror flooded Stiles--had Peter molested him while he was out cold? But then he realized he was still wearing his boxers and he was pretty sure he hadn't turned yet and there was no pain other than from the bite.

"I didn't fuck you," Peter muttered into his neck, "But, if you don't stop wriggling..." Stiles went stock still and the older werewolf huffed in amusement. "Really, Stiles, I'm a killer, not a rapist."

"I hate you."

"Yeah, we'll work through that." With a sigh of regret, Peter pulled away and Stiles felt the bed shift as he got out. Wincing at the pain, he slowly turned onto his back. He just didn't have any fat on his body and the fucking bite hurt! Peter was dressing in clean clothes and glanced back as he took a set of keys from the dresser and put them in his pants' pocket. "I'll send Scott in here. Do that thing that teenagers do where you tell your parents you're at each others house for the night and feel free to borrow some clothes. Yours are damp and muddy. I'll be back in an hour or two, after I pick up a few things."

"As soon as you're gone we're out of here, dickhead."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid. You'll turn by dawn. Do you want to risk that you'll spend the morning shredding your father to pieces?"

Frowning, Stiles yanked the sheet to his chin. "Then Scott will leave."

"And I'll have to threaten both your parents." He sounded like it was a chore, which made Stiles scowl at him. "Do you really want them turned? Although...if they survive, and it's iffy the older you get, they'll make good Betas. Maybe I should."

The scowl flew off his face as panic struck. "No! Please, Peter, don't!" No, his dad couldn't know any of this crap.

"Then stay put. If you're hungry, the fridge is stocked."

He left and a few minutes later Scott ran into the bedroom, then stumbled to a stop and gave a mournful whine.

"Yeah, apparently it's a werewolf," Stiles snorted, motioning to himself, before forcing himself to get up. His side screamed in pain and a glance showed him that Peter had bandaged the wound. Climbing back into the bed sounded really good in his swimming head, but he needed to piss and he was inexplicably hungry.

"I'm so sorry, Stiles."

"Not your fault. You know, it could have been me in the forest when he bit you. He could have done it when he kidnaped me. Maybe it was just inevitable." Limping around the bed he hugged Scott lightly, then went into the bathroom. "Get me a shirt and some pants, will you? You, too. Those jeans were already tight before the rain," he called out from inside the really luxurious bathroom. Were those faucets gold?

"You're taking this...way too well, dude."

Yeah, he sort of was. 

After relieving himself, Stiles washed his hands and carefully prodded at the bandage. It was sealed well and there was no seeping blood. He guessed it was healing. Glancing at the long counter, he found, among way too many hair products, a sealed toothbrush and he opened it and used it, finally getting the sour taste from vomiting out of his mouth. Leaving the bathroom he saw that Scott wore a clean pair of gray track pants and a navy and white striped Henley. For Stiles he'd found black pants with a drawstring--Peter was nearly his height but not skinny--and a red Polo top. It was a real Ralph Lauren one with the horse and everything.

"Jesus, a pretentious werewolf."

Scott snorted a laugh as Stiles pulled the clothes on, careful of the wound in his side that didn't quite hurt as much. 

"You know me, Scott," he finally replied to Scott's comment from when he'd gone into the bathroom, knowing his best friend would be able to follow his disjointed thoughts. "I'm pragmatic."

"That was last Thursday's word and, yeah, you are."

Back downstairs, they found a massive kitchen with chrome appliances and blue granite counter tops and made themselves huge sandwiches out of the drawer full of cold cuts and cheese. There was three kinds of soda in the fridge and both Doritos and potato chips in a cabinet. Cookies and candy filled a drawer and there were three tubs of ice cream in the freezer.

"Jeez, this is like a pedophile's dream kitchen, luring the teenagers in with every kind of junk food imaginable."

"Don't even think that," Scott replied, worried, as they took seats at the island on padded stools. "He isn't...is he?"

Stiles shrugged. "He was in bed with me when I woke up."

"Yeah, but that's actually normal, right? You read that somewhere, I remember. Derek was doing it all wrong, and Peter did it wrong with me. Cuddling is a thing for Alphas and their new Betas."

"Yeah." Recalling that made Stiles feel a bit better.

"Do you...feel any different?"

"It hurts like fuck, but, no. It was, what, about twelve hours for you right?"

"Yeah, but him bonding with you, that may speed it up for you."

"Great." He took a big bite of his sandwich and washed it down with Seven Up, wondering if Peter knew that was his drink of choice or was just a good guesser. Scott was drinking Pepsi and he preferred Coke, but maybe this was more about Stiles.

Which brought his mind right back in a circle to worrying about whether or not Peter wanted him as more than just a werewolf. In the garage that night he'd been all creepily seductive. But maybe innuendo was just his middle name. "I don't think this is going to fix my ADHD."

"That sucks."

"No fucking kidding."

After they finished eating--and cleaning up, because Stiles was too OCD to leave the dirty dishes in the sink--they found what must be a family room with one black leather couch and a huge entertainment center with a forty-eight inch flat screen high def tv. While there was every channel imaginable--and they settled on a showing of an old Big Bang Theory on TBS--there were no game consoles and that made Stiles feel a bit better again.

No comic books strewn around either to lure in unwary teenagers.

Of course, if he was going to spend any time here, both were requisite.

The bite started to tingle and he winced, then the front door opened and he felt him. Peter's presence nearly overwhelmed him and he could see it affecting Scott, too, so...looked like the bite was taking.

Frowning, he pushed himself to his feet and moved towards the entry way, only to gasp in shock and have Scott push past him to try to grab Allison's unconscious body from Peter's arms.

"No," Peter barked, holding her tighter.

"What did you do?" Scott demanded, and Spike could smell the fear coming off him.

And the blood off Allison.

He was turning.

Peter's red eyes lit on him and the Alpha smiled in satisfaction. "She stays with me until she begins the transition. Stiles, you seem to be doing well. I'm glad, and I have a present for you." As he walked towards the stairs, he was no longer blocking the girl pressed against the door, trembling from head to foot, eyes wide and yet...unfocused.

"Lydia?"

She didn't respond and Stiles felt his heart start to race in fear. "What did you do her?" he yelled at Peter who was half way up the stairs.

"He bit Allison. He bit Allison," Scott stammered in disbelief, but Stiles ignored him, because Lydia was bleeding, too, and he ran to her and caught her as she started to slide down the door.

"Yes, I did. I need three Betas at least, remember?"

Scott howled in fury, but after one step towards the stairs and a flash of the Alpha's eyes, he submitted helplessly and backed away.

Swinging Lydia's conscious but limp body into his arms--and it was so easy--Stiles sniffed her and easily found the open wound on her neck beneath her shirt collar. It was only bleeding lightly and was nothing like the original bites Peter had given her.

"Why did you bite Lydia?" He didn't demand. He couldn't help her if he didn't know.

"I can't turn her, but she is Pack, and I needed to reestablish the bond. I'll need to bite you again, too, Scott, but that can wait until Allison awakens. I figure with her here, you'll be much more accepting of your new status." Peter continued up the stairs and disappeared down the hall.

Both boys turned to stare at each other in shock.

"He turned Allison into a werewolf." 

Stiles gave Scott a worried look, then carried Lydia into the family room to lay her on the couch. There was a soft throw over the back and he pulled it over her, then sat next to her legs. Taking a tissue from a box on the coffee table, he carefully dabbed at the oozing bites. She didn't respond at all, but at least she was no longer shaking like a leaf.

"Man, Allison's father is going to be pissed." Scott slumped onto the one chair, burying his face in his hands. "But, he's right. I won't...I won't go anywhere without her. I can't leave her to Peter. He's won," he finished dully.

"Not yet. He has to cement the bonds with us. We'll figure something out before then, some way to protect our families and get away from him. And, yes, I know he can hear me," Stiles added when Scott frantically started pointing up and making shush gestures. "I don't care."

But he didn't say anything about trying to kill Peter, because he wasn't sure that was possible. This time he wasn't reckless, and was so much stronger. And there was something inside him, his wolf he guessed, that cringed at the thought of killing their Alpha.

Regardless, they needed Lydia in her right mind. Stiles frowned at her blank face. "Come on, Lyds, you're stronger than this. You really going to let Peter Hale do this to you again?" He poked at her leg.

"Dude," Scott hissed. "She'll slaughter you."

"Yeah, well apparently I don't die easily anymore." He poked her again and sang, "Lyds, wake up, Lyds. Come on, put on your big girl panties and get pissy." Leaning forward he yelled in her ear. "Lydia!"

Her eyes snapped to his and she shoved him back. "Maybe if you'd been calling me by my real name instead of that abominable abbreviation..."

Stiles grinned and helped her sit up.

"I was thinking, that's all," was her explanation, then her fingers went to the wound on her neck and she made a face. "Son of a bitch."

"Mine's bigger," he said as he pulled up his shirt and peeled down the bandage to find that the wounds were half-healed, and he could almost feel Scott rolling his eyes at his display of one-up-man-ship.

"Whatever. Where's Allison?"

"With Peter. It's an Alpha and new Beta thing."

"And that's not creepy? What is Peter doing? When did he become an Alpha again? And what the fuck does he want with me? And what's keeping us all here?"

Stiles and Scott laid out what they knew, including the threats to their parents which undoubtedly included hers, and they hashed everything out for over an hour, before going into the kitchen for ice cream. As they were finishing up, Peter came back down wearing only a pair of loose ivory linen pants.

"How is she?" Scott asked, worried.

"Awake and healing. She doesn't seem to desire to end her life like her stupid code demands, so I count this as a win." Opening the refrigerator, he took out a beer and popped the top off before leaning against the counter to drink.

"Can I see her?"

"After I bite you."

Peeling off his shirt, Scott flew to Peter's side and bared his throat.

"Jesus, love," Lydia muttered and Stiles rolled his eyes in agreement, then winced as Peter buried his fangs in the bend of Scott's neck. Scott shuddered but submitted. When they parted, Peter nodded towards the stairs and the Beta ran for them, taking them two at a time.

"I have to agree," Peter sighed. "Although love can do miracles," he added pointedly.

"Jackson's in Derek's pack."

He nodded at Stiles and took another sip of beer. "For now. Derek's done nothing to make his pack stable."

"And you will?"

"I made my move three days before the full moon for a reason, Stiles. You'll have fully transitioned by then and I'll have had time to teach you control. We'll run and hunt and howl beneath the moon, share the blood of our kill, and become Pack."

"Derek hasn't done that with his Betas," Lydia pointed out shrewdly. "And you're stronger anyway because of the way you became an Alpha this time. While younger, your pack will be stronger. And then you'll challenge him for the territory."

"In time, if necessary."

"And what about me, Peter? What am I supposed to do? You bit me, but I'm not a werewolf. Whatever pack bond you think is forming between us will never be what it is with your wolves."

"No, but you have other talents, my dear. You're a conduit."

Stiles startled. Ever since the first time he used mountain ash he'd been learning rather haphazardly from Dr. Deaton about being a spark. Just the week before he'd explained how a spark with a willing conduit could become a truly powerful mage. Whereas one without one would need years of intensive training, a spark and conduit working together could access natural and wild magic with little instruction.

"You know what I am," he said flatly.

Peter smiled over his beer bottle. "Of course. I sensed it in you the first time I met you, Stiles. And becoming a werewolf automatically makes you more powerful, more in control. With a conduit..."

"Wait, what are you Stiles?"

He glanced at Lydia's concerned face. "A spark. It means I have the potential to use true magic, become a mage. With a conduit to channel my spark, I hardly need any training. Once we learn to work together--oh you bastard!"

As Stiles raged silently, Peter's smile turned into a smirk. That shithead! He'd known all he had to do was put the two of them together with the knowledge of what they were and they wouldn't be able to stop themselves from experimenting.

"Do you really think we'll let you use us against Derek?" Lydia asked calmly, but Stiles could sense her nervousness as she leaned closer to him where they sat at the island.

"You, my darling Lydia, are remarkably easy to use. Your ability to channel magic is just wide open. I'm not even a spark and I was able to do it."

Stiles saw her pale and wrapped an arm around her waist, but was distracted from cursing at Peter--or forcing him to answer her original question about Derek--by Scott and Allison entering the kitchen. He had his arm around her, supporting her, and she was pale but her eyes glittered in anger. As she wore only a sports bra and a pair of shorts, her side--free of a bandage--revealed an ugly bite wound, a few hours newer than Stiles'.

"My father will kill you."

"No, I don't think he will. If he tries, I'll..."

"Kill him?" she snapped.

"No, turn him. And I don't think he'll follow in your mother's footsteps and off himself." Peter ignored her outraged gasp. "He'll want to do anything to help you. Hell, he might willingly offer himself to me."

"You only need three," Scott protested.

"At a minimum, and right now Derek has four, though I'm confident Jackson will join us soon." Peter gave Lydia a look, and Stiles was pleased when she glared back at him and didn't drop her eyes.

"So, what's your plan, Peter? Are you going to keep us here until Thursday and the full moon?" Stiles asked, making it clear he didn't think that was going to work.

"No. You stay tonight to finish transitioning. Tomorrow I teach the two of you basic control, and then you can go home."

"Really?"

"Our pack bond is already strong and I think you know I'll keep my word concerning your parents, so you won't tell them, and while you might go running to Derek, you'll come when I call. Remember, Scott fought me for months when I didn't care that much. Now that I do, I stopped him with one word." He clapped his hands and pushed away from the counter. "I'm afraid I only have one bed, and while puppy piles really aren't a thing, Stiles, it's a king for a reason. Clean up the kitchen and join me upstairs."

"We're not sleeping with you," Scott protested.

Peter flashed his red eyes and growled and all three werewolves ducked their own eyes and shoulders.

"Fascinating," Lydia mused, and Stiles frowned at himself in disgust. After Peter exited the kitchen he started gathering up the dishes. Scott and Allison were hugging and murmuring to each other and Lydia was watching them all as if they were mutant cells under a microscope.

There was only so many times he could wipe down a counter, though, so finally Stiles folded the wash cloth over the faucet and turned off the light over the sink before nodding towards the hall. "I guess..."

"I'm not going anywhere," Lydia said.

Sighing he went over to where she still perched on a stool. "All that will do is make him come down here and haul you up the stairs in the most undignified way possible."

Making a face, she finally slid off the stool and stomped across the kitchen. "Wow, and to think I used to find your petulance attractive," he muttered under his breath as he followed her, turning off the main bank of lights. Still wrapped around each other, Scott and Allison were already half way up the stairs and the other two followed them all the way into Peter's room.

To Stiles' surprise the Alpha wasn't ensconced in the middle of the bed like some kind of sultan but stood at the window, hands clasped behind his back, looking out.

"Derek's out there," Scott said softly, head cocked towards the window. "He's...upset."

Allison made a discontented sound. After the debacle with Gerard she and Derek had a long talk about her mother and Kate and the whole Hale/Argent feud and came to an amicable acceptance of each other. "I can...feel him."

Surprised, Peter shot her a look over her shoulder. "Scott and Stiles accepted him as their Alpha but I didn't realize you had as well."

Stiles watched her squirm beneath his hard look, then realized what Peter had said and protested, "I never agreed to that."

"Where Scott goes you follow, right?"

Frowning, all he really could do was agree--he was here and a werewolf now after all--, though he didn't like it, and, as Lydia wandered over to the other side of the bow window and stared down, changed the subject. "So, how is this going to work?"

"We need to touch, so skin."

"Not getting naked with you."

"That's why I'm loaning the girls t-shirts and the three of us will keep on our boxers. Just pretend we're all at the pool."

"I don't cuddle at the pool," Stiles stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

Peter mimicked the motion and looked a Hell of a lot more menacing doing it, so they all finally gave in and started stripping. Well, the girls took the t-shirts laid out on the bed and went into the bathroom. 

In just his Thor boxer shorts--and regretting that morning's choice--Stiles went over to the window and looked down at Derek. There was actually something like sorrow on the young Alpha's face. Stiles knew he could feel the change in them, the two turning into werewolves, the other two becoming Peter's Pack, and he wondered if he felt a loss of power as well.

Suddenly Stiles wanted to go out there, be with him, comfort him, and he raised his hand to the glass, only to have Peter pull the curtains shut in front of him.

Stiles growled and, shocked at the sound, clapped a hand over his mouth.

Wrapping one arm around his chest, Peter jerked him back against him to murmur, "In three nights you'll be mine and no longer feel any pull towards him, and you're going to be such a strong wolf, Stiles."

Squirming free, Stiles turned to glare at the Alpha who only gave him an enigmatic look and moved to climb on the bed. As the girls exited the bathroom wearing t-shirts that covered them as much as some of their mini-dresses, Scott preemptively took Allison's hand and got into bed first, pulling her to the outside.

Seeing how vulnerable Lydia looked, Stiles climbed into bed on the window side, taking the spot next to Peter so she didn't need to. A moment of gratitude crossed her face, then she slid in next to him.

"No groping, Stilinski," she warned pertly, then turned away from him and snagged the pillow for herself.

Huffing, Stiles rolled his head to look at Peter who gave him an amused look and offered him half his pillow, then past him to where Scott and Allison were facing each other, holding hands. When Peter turned to wrap an arm around Stiles' waist, his hip brushing the bite mark, Stiles shivered, but not in pain and fear, and he saw Scott instinctively roll to press against his Alpha's back, Allison turning as well to spoon her boyfriend.

Glancing hesitantly at Lydia, Stiles watched her slowly roll her head towards him, then sigh and turn to place one hand on his chest before closing her eyes.

"This is so weird," he mumbled.

"Pack," Peter rumbled contentedly and Stiles saw his hand slide up to brush Lydia's. That she didn't jerk away surprised him, but then he glanced over again and now saw Allison's hand stretched over Scott to touch Peter's waist.

"No, still weird."

"Stiles, go to sleep," Lydia growled, even though she was the lone non-wolf in the bed, and he found himself obeying her command.

As he closed his eyes, he realized he could feel them all, something nebulous and unexplainable, but there, fluttering on his nerves and in his mind. He felt his heart speed up, and then...felt Peter lightly pressing against the bond and calming him.

Stiles fell asleep feeling a mixture of contentment and freaked.

*****

After an awkward awakening with too many boners in the bed, with an amused Alpha stretching out and brushing them both physically and through the bond, followed by a lot of mumbling and dashing for bathrooms, they had a big breakfast, and Stiles experienced the first physical manifestation of the change.

He heard a rabbit rustling through the flower bed along the driveway, and then his nose twitched as he smelled it.

"I really don't want to hunt bugs bunny," he protested as Peter grinned proudly.

"It's your instincts taking over. Come on, let's go outside and expand your senses."

"I don't hear anything," Allison said, frowning.

"You will," Scott replied encouragingly. "Remember me handing you a pen that first day of school? I heard you on the phone outside saying you'd forgotten one. I'd just been turned the night before."

"You're progressing nicely, Allison, but you were bitten several hours after Stiles." 

They went into the large backyard and Stiles wasn't surprised to find Derek gone--he'd known that when he'd awakened--but he did feel a bit disappointed.

"And what am I supposed to do while you sniff things?"

Peter pointed Lydia to a lounge chair. "Well, you could work on your tan or you could use your brain and keep track of their progress." He held out a notebook and pen and smirked when she snatched them and went over to the chair.

"I can do both."

"Of course you can."

*****

By four in the afternoon--the day only broken by a huge lunch because apparently werewolves did need more food than normal humans--Stiles and Allison had some measure of control. Both had transitioned completely, taking Beta form and shifting back several times, which at first was hard but got easier as they practiced. They learned to shift only their eyes, claws, fangs, and retract them. Learned to use their expanded senses and adjust to how much faster and stronger they were, along with having quicker reflexes. 

Stiles was surprised at how proficient a teacher Peter was, but over lunch he let slip that he had trained the young wolves in the Hale Pack, which Stiles knew meant Derek as well as Laura, so it wasn't so surprising after all. Scott was helpful as well, and Lydia had some interesting insights from her hours of note taking.

The final hour of training was a discussion of finding their anchors. It was obvious that Allison's would be Scott, and Stiles figured his would be his dad, but that would take some trial and error. He'd work on it.

At the end of the day they gathered in the entryway of the house, Peter with his back to the door. "I'm trusting you not to do anything stupid." He directed that at Stiles who squawked indignantly. "I don't want to hurt your parents or turn them. I don't need a war with the hunters or police. Be pissed at me all you want, but be smart, and, remember, I can feel you through the pack bond, even you Lydia. Don't try to run, don't tell anyone human what you've become, come back here before night fall on Thursday."

The four others looked at each then nodded in unison which made Peter smile.

Great Stepford time. After several hours of training, Stiles noticed that they'd started to do things together, feeding off each others moves.

Dressing alike was off the table, though. He drew the line there.

"The bond is already expanding between you. This is good. Don't be surprised if you find yourselves wanting to be together for the next two days, even sleeping together. Just be careful of your parents. Also, I'll be here if any of you want to stay the nights with me."

Stiles opened his mouth to tell him 'never in a million years' but...he hesitated because he didn't actually feel that way, and then closed his mouth without saying anything. Beside him, Lydia reached out and squeezed his hand for a moment, then steeled herself as Peter approached her. The other three had become used to him getting in their personal space and touching them, but she'd stayed separate from them, watching from the patio.

Leaning in, Peter ran his nose along her jaw and then under the edge of her shirt to nuzzle the slowly healing bite mark. Stiles saw Lydia shiver and bite her lip, but also saw her hand go to Peter's arm, not to push him away, but to touch.

He was next and he instinctively tilted his head, submitting to the scent marking. It kind of tickled, but also felt weirdly awesome, and as Peter rubbed his nose along his neck, Stiles turned his head and brushed his own nose across Peter's cheek.

The Alpha smiled in approval at him before repeating the action with Allison who never stopped holding Scott's hand. She didn't reciprocate but she didn't pull away either, submitting with dropped eyes and bared neck.

Scott was last and responded fully, gripping Peter's shoulder and nuzzling along his neck, and Stiles realized how much Scott must have been missing--even if he hadn't realized he was missing anything--by denying his Alpha and then having Derek who didn't do any of this and rarely let his Betas touch him.

*****

Stiles had a good dinner with his dad and managed not to wolf out at all, even when they were both yelling at how badly Oakland was losing to the Yankees on the television, followed by playing a couple hours of WOW on his computer. He thought he might miss Peter and the others, but he didn't really.

Although he wondered if, after the full moon and whatever happened to bind them completely, he would find it hard to be away from them.

He really hoped not because he had two years left of high school and a dad who wouldn't understand any of this werewolf shit. He couldn't spend 24/7 hanging out at Peter's mansion.

Pack bonding was one thing. Having to spend every second with them was a no go.  
Surprisingly, Stiles slept well that first night apart from his pack, but he could feel them all on the periphery. It was comforting and just the right amount of closeness.

On Wednesday morning he awoke to find Derek lurking in a dark corner of his bedroom.

"Dude," Stiles sighed. "You can't do that anymore."

"You're not his," he growled back and Stiles rolled his eyes then rubbed them as he sat up. He was a bit surprised that he could feel some kind of fledgling bond with Derek as well as the stronger one with Peter, so something had begun to form there before the bite.

Although, he suspected that would be wiped out on the full moon. 

"There's nothing we can do short of killing him and I'm not sure even together we could do that. Also, if I try, he'll either kill or turn my dad and I'm not risking that."

Derek's shoulders hunched and he moved to slump into the desk chair. "I'm sorry, Stiles."

"Yeah, me too. Didn't want to become a werewolf, but I'm adjusting."

"You shouldn't be his Beta."

"No, but I am and I'm not going to keep fighting that. He's amazingly strong, Derek, and he knows shit. Yesterday he spent a couple hours explaining how packs work, really work, and, dude, you should have been there learning, too, because you are screwing up."

"You think I don't know that!? We start learning all that when we reach maturity, sixteen, and my family died a month before my birthday. Laura," he stumbled over her named, "was too busy trying to keep us alive and from falling to Omega to teach me what I needed to know." His voice dropped to a pained sound, "But I can't just let Peter take over. That would be a betrayal of her as bad as what I did to my family."

"I know," Stiles soothed, drawn to the Alpha as a Beta even if he wasn't really his. "I understand." Softly he sighed. "Damn this is confusing."

"I can feel you."

"Yeah, ditto."

"Don't kill on the full moon."

Shifting to that subject, Stiles asked, "Why didn't you do that with Erica, Isaac and Boyd? I mean, you still could, Jackson, too."

"I...don't know. Too busy running from Gerard and the Kanima."

"Well, you have time now and, look Derek, you need to do it to make you all stronger. I don't know if Peter can steal them out from under you, but if he does, you really will be an Omega."

Slowly Derek nodded. "They don't want to be Peter's." He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you?"

"No."

"But you will be."

Stiles shrugged helplessly and they both rose at the same time, giving each other awkward looks. "Strengthen your pack."

"Stay strong yourself." Derek climbed out the window and Stiles watched him go feeling sad and confused.

"Shit."

*****

Later that day Allison came by looking a bit frazzled and they sat in the cool living room drinking cola and eating cheetos. 

"Dad knows something's going on."

"Not really surprising, Ally."

"If he finds out, and you know he will, he's going to be so disappointed in me."

"This isn't your fault, you know. It's all on Peter."

She frowned over at him. "Why aren't you angry any more?"

Stiles shrugged and stuffed a handful of cheetos in his mouth. "I dunno. Maybe because there's nothing we can do but accept. My righteous anger and desire to get away from him have just poofed away."

"Scott fought him."

"Different Peter entirely. Not sane, nowhere near as strong, not even when he briefly had Derek on his side. You weren't there for the fight with Derek's pack. He wiped the floor with them. It was frightening how fast and strong and brutal he was, and he didn't even have any of us yet. Scott arrived and with one word he stopped him in his tracks. Before he either wasn't able to do that or never bothered to try."

Silence fell for a few minutes as they sipped their drinks and stared across the room, then she whispered hesitantly, "I never wanted to be a werewolf. I don't want to be a hunter, either. I don't know what to do, Stiles."

"We gotta make the best of it. You have Scott. You have Scott even more now, right? Through the pack bond?"

A slow look of wonder crossed her face and she nodded. "He's thinking about me." She flushed and Stiles grinned.

*****

Thursday morning came and Stiles awakened curled around Peter in his massive bed. Startled, he pushed himself away and the Alpha woke up, stretching, a smile on his face.

"Good morning, Stiles."

"How...? Gah! Whuh...?"

"Very intelligible."

Fear spiked in him. He didn't remember leaving his house, arriving here, anything! "Did you make me come here?"

Peter frowned and sat up to loom over him. "No. I was pleasantly surprised when you crawled into bed with me and wrapped yourself around me."

Flushing, Stiles sat up and scooted towards the edge of the bed. "I don't remember."

"Something drew you here." Peter reached out to touch him and Stiles jerked back.

"Don't! Please...don't."

"I won't force anything on you."

"You already have," he cried. "If I ever wanted to be a werewolf I wanted to be Derek's and you took that from me."

Before he could scramble off the bed, Peter was on him, forcing him to his back, his nose buried in his neck, as he ground out, "Derek would have been a shitty Alpha to you. Do you really think those kids are going to survive long if something much worse than me comes along? Do you know how easily it would have been for me to kill them? Maybe not Derek, but his Betas are barely trained, don't work together, aren't Pack!"

Wincing as sharp claws bit into his shoulders, Stiles pushed futility at Peter's chest, trying to force out his own claws but they wouldn't come.

"Don't even think it, little wolf," Peter growled, red eyes glowing with frustration.

Helpless beneath their gaze, Stiles submitted and Peter's fangs slipped easily into his neck. It hurt, but nowhere near as badly as the original bite, and he felt the pack bond snap hard into place. "I hate this," he sobbed even as everything felt so right.

Peter's tongue lapped softly against the wounds as he crooned, "I know, but all this is necessary."

"Why? Why did you have to become an Alpha again?"

Slowly Peter rolled onto his back, pulling Stiles with him until he sprawled across his naked chest, listening to his Alpha's heart beat. He didn't even try to get away and he hated that he was so pliable, but he also had to know the answers to too many questions. "I hadn't planned on it, really. Seeing Derek's failures was physically painful. My sister, his mother--the thought of her worrying about him, fearing for him, helpless to help him--I just couldn't stay. I went to George to see if I could join his pack, but when he made his offer, I couldn't refuse. He was a good man, an ally, and my father-in-law. But, I couldn't stay there without a pack and I know, I know, Stiles, that I'll be a much better Alpha than Derek."

"He wasn't meant to be one, you said that the first day."

"Yes. He wasn't born with the potential. Born wolves who become Alphas can do it, but it's so hard for them to hold a pack together. If they can find someone with the strength to become an Alpha Mate, they have a better chance and, for a while, I thought maybe that would be you."

Startled, Stiles shot his eyes up to Peter's. "What?"

Peter sighed. "All that bickering and shoving into walls, I thought it was foreplay."

"Uh...maybe?"

"But, spending just a few weeks with him after Jackson turned, I realized he wasn't going to make a move on you. The boy is broken far worse than I can fix him, even if he'd allow me to try."

Feeling himself flush at the idea of Derek maybe wanting him--because he'd had his own barely formed thoughts in that direction--Stiles buried his face back in Peter's warm chest, and felt the Alpha's hand stroke over his head. "Shouldn't an Alpha Mate be the opposite sex? I mean, for kids?"

"If the pack is stable, it doesn't have to be, and maybe that's one of the reasons he never asked you."

"Oh."

Peter's hand continued to pet him and Stiles relaxed and closed his eyes. "Sleep, Stiles. Tonight is a big night."

"Are you going to keep trying to take his pack from him?"

"We can't have two here, the territory's too small."

"I don't want to hurt him," Stiles whimpered.

"Neither do I," Peter admitted softly as Stiles drifted to sleep.

*****

They spent the day talking and Stiles learned more about packs and how they functioned than he'd learned in the previous four months. After dinner Scott and Allison arrived, holding hands, both looking a bit wary and surprised to find Stiles already there. They were even more surprised when he admitted he'd been there since shortly after midnight.

"Yeah, your dad called wondering where you were and why you weren't answering your phone. I think he believed my story that you were with me and we were swimming and your phone died."

Taking it from his pocket, Stiles saw that at some point he'd put it on mute and there were a couples messages from his dad and several texts from Scott. "Sorry. We got to talking and the day just flew."

Allison reached out and took his free hand, leaning close to ask softly, "Stiles, did he make you come here?"

"No. Really, he didn't. I'm pretty sure I would have felt that. He's been really good about not using the bond to make me do stuff...well, mostly." Peter had made Stiles submit, but that had felt right.

Peter came down the stairs and cocked his head towards the front door. "Well, this is unexpected. I truly didn't think this would happen so soon, but then maybe I shouldn't be surprised. She's an Alpha human, so very unique in so many ways." As he spoke, the door opened and Lydia came in followed by Jackson, who looked guilty and nervous and had his shoulders hunched to his ears.

"If you thought I was going to run around in the woods without Jackson after I fought so hard to get him back to all of us, you were very mistaken, Peter," Lydia said crisply.

He smiled enigmatically at her and approached Jackson who flashed blue eyes at him in confusion and fear. "Do you know why your eyes are blue?" When the young man shook his head, he continued, "Born werewolves have blue eyes. So do humans born to wolves who are later turned. At least one of your birth parents was a werewolf. Derek should have told you this when he turned you. He would have tasted the markers in your blood."

Jackson gaped at him. "They're...dead. Car accident."

"It's possible you have other family out there. I'd be willing to help you...if you're Pack."

The young man's jaw tightened but his eyes lit up with hope. "That's why I'm here. I've never liked the way Derek runs things, never wanted to be in his pack, and if Lydia's here, that's where I want to be. I don't know you except that you tried to kill me a couple times, but she said you were a psycho then and you're not anymore. You hurt her, too, but she's here, so..."

"You don't want to be an Omega, Jackson. Even a born wolf won't survive long as one. But, you have to submit to me, join in our hunt, fully commit to the Pack."

"I will."

Stiles saw Lydia squeeze his hand, relief on her face. Had she thought Peter would turn him down? Or that Jackson would fight it like he'd fought Derek?

"Can you take him from Derek?" he asked, curious.

"If Derek had finalized the Pack and Beta bonds properly, no, not without his consent or his death, and even then Jackson would have to agree, but since he didn't, then yes. He'll struggle a bit more against his instincts to be with Derek, but I trust you'll all be there to help him."

"Allison and I still can feel Derek and yet we were human, will we struggle too?"

"No, it's different for humans. Even if you're in a pack, the Alpha who bites you will take precedence once the bond settles. And the moon is rising, so we need to go do that."

Feeling a bit of trepidation, a bit of fear, and a bit of loss, Stiles followed all of them out into the backyard. 

*****

Stiles didn't remember much. Flashes of images. The taste of hot blood on his tongue. The feel of fur and flesh ripping beneath his claws. The howls surrounding him, vibrating through him, from him. 

His pack, touching, playing, running.

The moon was so powerful and he was so powerful. That day of practice, of shifting and running, had been nothing in comparison.

He did remember Jackson accepting a new bite over the one Derek had given him, then letting Peter hold him and soothe him as they all lay on the soft, cool grass, but then the moon had broken the tree line of the forest behind the house, and Stiles had shifted without thinking.

He hadn't been lost, though. There were dim memories of Peter guiding him, all of them, even Scott who had been through several full moons. He'd felt them all inside him, and felt their physical touches as well. While Scott had run with Allison and Jackson had stayed with Lydia and her human limitations, Stiles had never felt alone. Peter circled them all, encouraging them with petting and snuffling and scenting, and they'd hunted.

Animals, no humans, as Peter had promised. Stiles wasn't sure what he'd killed and eaten, but there'd been fur and small bones.

It had tasted so good.

He'd been concerned that on coming back to himself, he'd want to puke up whatever he'd eaten, but it had settled, filling him, and, as the moon set, he found himself kneeling on the edge of the forest, naked, licking dried blood from his fingers.

He didn't remember getting naked, but they all were, his pack, asleep around him, curled together, all touching, even Lydia.

And it wasn't embarrassing or arousing, not even with Lydia.

Slowly his gaze drifted to Peter, the only other one awake, who was propped on one elbow sandwiched between Allison and Jackson with Scott's legs draped across his as he wrapped around his girlfriend, and he remembered.

Waking up, curled on top of his Alpha, feeling small even though they were about the same size.

Peter smiled at him and Stiles crawled back on top of him, nudging Scott's legs down so he could curl his feet on the older wolf's calves.

"You were magnificent last night."

"Don't remember much," Stiles grunted as Peter wrapped his arms around his lower back.

"As you gain more control and get accustomed to the power of the moon, you will."

"What did we eat?"

Peter chuckled. "Small animals, squirrels, rabbits, a racoon. It was a good first hunt. Soon we'll have enough expertise to take down deer."

"We hunted as Pack. I could feel the bond strengthening." It almost vibrated between them, and he reached out and touched Allison's cheek. She stirred and the rest began to awaken as well.

"Why am I naked?" Lydia asked, outraged, and Stiles rolled his head to see her sitting up, not worried about modesty at all, though there were goose bumps in interesting places on her skin as, unlike the wolves, she felt the chill in the air.

"Probably should make sure she gets dressed before we pass out," he pointed out.

"Frankly, I'm surprised she was so caught up in the pack bond," Peter admitted as they started staggering up and looking for their clothes, which were annoyingly damp from dew. "Everything about Lydia is new to me. Immunity is incredibly rare."

She gave him a tight smile and pulled her shirt over her head. "I need a shower and coffee in that order."

Allison chuckled at her best friend and Stiles saw Jackson smile fondly at their Pack Human, then lean down and kiss her.

"You taste like blood," she protested.

"So do you," Jackson replied, grinning, then scooped her up into his arms half-dressed and loped for the house.

Everyone else followed at a more leisurely pace. Wearing only his jeans and carrying his shoes and t-shirt, Stiles felt the sun rise and replace the moon, bringing with it more clarity, and he remembered a couple other things from the night before.

He glanced at Peter who walked beside him while Scott and Allison strolled ahead of them. "I remember. You were a wolf. A real wolf. Not that..."

"Monster," Peter helpfully supplied.

Stiles rolled his eyes. "Yeah, monster you were before."

"I'm healthy and whole now. My Alpha form is what it should have always been."

"You were...um...well, gorgeous."

Smiling in delight, Peter led him into the house.

The other thing he remembered was the howls he'd heard that weren't Pack.

Derek and his wolves, hunting on the far side of the Preserve.

Had he listened to Stiles?

"The howls..." he began hesitantly.

"I heard them, too," Peter murmured as he looped an arm across Stiles' shoulders. "Did you tell Derek what he needed to do?"

"Yes." He wasn't going to feel badly about it.

Peter sighed but didn't berate or scold him, just led him up to the master bedroom and the shower. The others were in other bedrooms which, while they didn't have furniture, did have towels, soap, shampoo and toothbrushes for everyone. "You've made him stronger," he pointed out as he turned on the water in the shower which had six heads. That boggled Stiles' mind, but he shook it away and peeled off his jeans again before stepping into the marble enclosure, followed by his Alpha--and it all seemed so weirdly natural.

"Yeah. I don't want you killing him."

"I don't want that either. But he needs to surrender or he needs to leave. Now, wash my back."

Stiles rolled his eyes and reached for the soap.

*****

The next few weeks passed both quickly and slowly. It was summer time and their responsibilities outside of Pack were few. They met daily to bond and train and ended most days with a big dinner and discussions about pack dynamics and politics. Of course there were problems, fights, angry words spoken, but they also got along amazingly well, even with Jackson.

Allison had the hardest time adjusting to being a werewolf and having Peter as her Alpha. Stiles knew it was due to a combination of her own hunter background and the fact that Peter had brutally murdered her aunt before her eyes. Stiles had watched his own mom die, but that had been after a long illness and relatively peaceful; he wasn't sure how Allison had dealt with the violence she'd witnessed. Well, she'd tried to kill most of them at one time or another, but that was a sucky way to deal.

Still, having Scott at her side obviously helped. 

And Scott's acceptance at being Peter's Beta was amazing. Once he committed, he was there for all of them, even Peter. It came as no shock that he was made Peter's First Beta, though they all knew it was temporary if Derek did give in and joined their pack. 

To everyone's surprise Jackson accepted Scott's place in the pack with no problem. He seemed to thrive under Peter's guidance, learning how to use his strength and agility for the betterment of the pack. Lydia had a lot to do with that. After being the Kanima, after dying, Jackson was a different person. He was calmer, less obnoxious, and willing to work at belonging.

Where his adopted parents had trouble connecting with him, he found a family in the pack, and Lydia's love for him mellowed them both.

For her part, she found that having Peter thrilled by her intelligence and supportive of it made her eager to show him what she knew and could do. She might never completely get over what he did to her to bring himself back to life, but they had several long talks about it, and she, at least, understood him. Stiles was surprised the first time she actually smiled when their Alpha complimented her, especially since her initial arrival at the house hadn't been pleasant.

But, then, none of theirs had and yet they were working things out and now all came willingly.

One of the best parts of the day for Stiles was working magic with Lydia. They bounced ideas off each other, worked well together, and were undeniably brilliant.

And the other was when Peter smiled at him when he did something well. Stiles wasn't sure why that mattered to him, but it did.

The pack's beginning--with threats to their families, forced bites, and fear--seemed to fade to the back of their memories, and, for his part Stiles thought it was because Peter was just so damn nice. He had a pack willing to accept him as Alpha and his whole demeanor had changed.

Yes, he was still sarcastic, and sneered and smirked a lot, but Stiles had a feeling that being snarky was just his personality. He was snarky, too. They got along surprisingly well.

It helped that, as the pack settled, Peter never threatened his dad or any of their parents or friends again, and it was obvious he didn't really want to hurt Derek and his Betas. He wanted them with him.

Stiles wished they would just join the pack, but he also understood why Derek refused. Peter had killed his sister. Yes, he had been brain damaged, driven only by revenge, and, to an extent, insane, but he'd still killed his niece.

Yet, the few times Laura's name was mentioned at pack meetings, there was something sad in Peter's expression. Something regretful.

Something real.

Outside of keeping all this from their parents--even Chris Argent hadn't figured it out yet--the only major problem they faced was dealing with Derek and his pack. There were no outright battles, but several times nasty words were spoken when members of the opposing packs met. Jackson's defection seriously pissed off Derek and he blamed Peter for luring him away. That the bond between him, Stiles, Scott and Allison was broken also pissed him off, and the few times he and Stiles met, he was downright cold to him, as if this was Stiles' fault.

And Stiles let him know he didn't appreciate that attitude.

*****

"Why aren't you fighting him? He bit you against your will. He threatened your dad! Why are you just being the meek, perfect little Beta? That's not you, Stiles!"

Stiles wasn't happy about being waylaid while he gassed up his jeep, and he wanted to lash out at Derek--and probably could get away with doing it because they were the only two at the station so late at night--but it wasn't like he hadn't asked himself those same questions.

"He's different."

"Bullshit!"

Glaring at the young Alpha, Stiles finished topping off his tank and hung up the nozzle. "Look, Derek, yes, he started the pack in all the wrong ways, but none of us want to be miserable. He doesn't want us to be miserable. We're werewolves, there's no getting around that, and while he didn't give us a choice in that or cementing the pack bond, we've accepted that we're Pack. We accept him."

"How can you?" Derek demanded, obviously confused.

"I don't know. Really, I don't, except that he's not what we expected. He doesn't rule by fear, and we're learning so much. He just wants us all to be together and happy."

"You've become his puppet." Derek's sneer sent a bolt of anger through Stiles.

"Gee, thanks, Derek. It's not like you never used me before." Locking his gas cap, he stomped around the jeep, only to have Derek grab his shoulder and haul him back.

Stiles used his momentum and everything Peter had taught him to flip the heavier man over his shoulder. As Derek gasped in shock on the ground, Stiles glared down at him. "Don't touch me."

"Has he fucked you? Is that why?" There was nothing pleasant on the older man's face as he scrambled to his feet.

"None of your business, and, again, thanks for thinking so highly of me. Now get the fuck out of my way."

After a long, tense minute, Derek stepped aside and Stiles got into his jeep, roaring out of the lot and not looking back.

His dad was working the night shift and he'd planned to go home after spending the evening at the movies with his pack, but, instead, he found himself at Peter's with his Alpha opening the door and his arms before he had a chance to knock.

"I felt your turmoil," Peter explained, staying wrapped around him as he led him into the house and up the stairs. The other bedrooms now had furniture--Peter didn't seem to have any financial constraints and had let them all decorate their own rooms, though, when they spent the night, Allison was almost always with Scott and Lydia with Jackson--but he took Stiles into the master bedroom and not his own room.

The Alpha's bed was always open to any of them who needed comfort or Pack, and, at one time or another they'd all taken him up on the offer. For other reasons and not a fear that he'd molest them--none of them believed he'd do that--Lydia and Allison never slept alone with him, but Stiles was there more often than in his own beds in this house or his own.

He slept so easily in Peter's bed, especially when it was just him and the Alpha, and he actively avoided thinking about why that might be.

"What's wrong?" 

Kicking off his shoes and wriggling out of his pants and shirt, Stiles climbed into bed next to Peter and wrapped his arm across his chest. The Alpha wore only a pair of low slung pajama pants, but Stiles had gotten used to nudity or near nudity in the pack.

"Ran into Derek," he muttered. "He was an ass. He..."

"What?" Peter encouraged gently.

Stiles sighed and rubbed his cheek against the sparse hair on the wolf's chest. "He accused me of sleeping with you and that's what accounted for my acceptance of you. Actually, he accused you of fucking me which I think actually meant he was accusing you of raping me, and I can't believe he did that!" As his voice ratcheted up, Peter began to stroke his head and shoulders, trying to calm him down.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that he would think I could rape someone." The emptiness in Peter's voice bothered Stiles and he tightened his arm around him, listening to his heartbeat beneath his ear. "After all, I killed his sister, I murdered a half dozen people and tried to kill him, I bit and turned teenagers against their wills. Of course he sees me as a monster."

"You're not."

"Oh, Stiles. I threatened to kill your father and yet here you lie in my arms, comforting me."

"I dunno why, Peter, but we're all getting past how you started the pack. We're okay with you as Alpha." Lifting his head he met the older man's confused eyes. "It makes no sense. We should all be fighting you as best we can, plotting against you, and we were going to. That first night, we wanted out so bad, but...then...we became Pack and you weren't a monster and everything was unexpected."

And something else, something Stiles hadn't even consciously acknowledged, sent him scooting up the bed and moving to straddle Peter's hips and blanket his body. "Can I kiss you?" he whispered, cupping the Alpha's cheeks.

"I don't want to take advantage."

"Can I?"

Amazement lightened Peter's face and he nodded, but then placed a finger against Stiles' lips as he started to lower his mouth. "This isn't the pack bond. It's not me subconsciously forcing you to do this. I promise you I..."

"Peter, hush. I know." As the finger dropped away, Stiles kissed his Alpha, and it wasn't forced or because of the bond.

He wanted it.

No clue why, but he was sixteen and didn't care.

Although, even at sixteen, he wasn't quite ready to go farther than kissing, not this first night, and Peter was okay with that, too. Sleeping in each others arms was satisfying enough for now.

*****

There was an actual white flag--okay, it was a kitchen towel on a broomstick--and it amused Stiles way too much. Isaac, who was carrying it, kept rolling his eyes at it, so he was either amused or annoyed, too. 

The two packs came together in Deaton's clinic, one of the few neutral places in town. The meeting had been broached by Derek five days after that nastiness at the gas station. Peter had been surprised because his nephew had ignored all his attempts to meet or talk. 

Derek stood stoically next to Isaac. Stiles slouched against the wall next to Peter. Deaton was in his office. His only comment had been a request for no bloodshed or both packs would be on his shit list.

Technically, under a truce flag, there wasn't supposed to be any bloodshed, but Derek could be very volatile and Peter enjoyed pissing him off. Determined to keep them from lashing out at each other, Stiles appeared unconcerned in his slouch but was completely aware of every single movement, facial tic, and even the air conditioning blowing over them.

Since Derek didn't appear to want to start, Peter asked, "Are you ready to surrender your pack to me and join mine as my Beta?"

"No."

"Then there's nothing else to discuss," Peter snapped, annoyed, and Stiles winced and carefully placed a hand on the Alpha's taut bicep. The sub-vocal noise Derek made bothered him, but not enough for him to stop touching Peter.

Derek wasn't his Alpha anymore. He'd lost the chance to be that and possibly more.

"Wait, hear me out," Derek ground out. "I can't...I can't give up my pack, not now that the bond has settled, and I don't want to be your Beta, but I'm conceding the territory."

That comment startled Peter, but Stiles was the one to gasp.

Derek's shoulders slumped a bit and he looked decidedly uncomfortable. "It hurts too much to be here. I don't know how you can do it. For the first four months I was so busy, first tracking and fighting you and the Argents, then fighting the Kanima and the Argents and then you again, I barely had a chance to breathe. I want...to breathe, Peter. Every inhalation I take here tastes like ash and blood."

"Where will you go?" Peter asked quietly when Derek seemed to run out of steam.

"Do you remember the talks mom had with the Kerwin Pack outside of Tahoe?"

Peter stiffened slightly, but he nodded. "They were preliminary. We already had an alliance, but it was an old and weakening one. They wanted to solidify it with fresh blood."

"I talked to Alisha Kerwin the other day. Her father just died, naturally, and she's the Alpha, but she's only twenty and she's worried. A couple other local packs have been sniffing around. Her pack is larger than the two of ours together, but not by much, all family. Apparently she remembered the talks and called me."

"Are you willing...Are you able," Peter amended softly, "to go through with the proposal?"

Derek nodded shortly. "I need to move on. For over six years I've barely existed. I tried to rebuild what I'd lost but it hasn't worked. It wasn't right. I want to move on. I want to have a family."

Isaac placed a comforting hand on Derek's shoulder and smiled slightly as Derek relaxed a bit. 

"Isaac's going to come with me. He's emancipated, so there's no problem there. Alisha said she'd welcome a merger with my pack. New blood is always a good thing. Boyd and Erica are coming, too, for a couple weeks to meet everyone, but they have families here. I'm formally requesting that they be allowed to remain in your territory until they graduate from high school, at which time they will both be eighteen and will decide to either join us in Tahoe or, if you'll allow it, join your pack. I also request that, until that time, they be allowed to join your pack's full moon hunts, and that, with two weeks notice, I and Isaac be allowed to visit them in your territory up to four times a year for no more than forty-eight hours at a time."

That was probably the longest speech Stiles had ever heard Derek give. Even Peter seemed impressed or surprised.

"Derek," Peter said softly, "Of course I'll watch over your Betas and take them in if they wish to join my pack, and you don't have to give two weeks notice or restrict yourself to only four short visits. Just let me know a few hours before you cross the boundary and you're welcome here."

"I don't want to impose."

Peter finally approached Derek who sadly looked like he was expecting a blow. Stiles could tell that Peter was feeling magnanimous and...something else.

"We're not Pack, but we are blood. I want you to be happy and you're not happy here. I hope you find peace and contentment with Alisha and have many cubs."

What?

Oh...that kind of alliance?

"Wait, can you stay an Alpha?" 

Peter was the one to answer Stiles. "Yes. A mated pair can both be Alphas. It's the only way two can reside in the same territory peacefully. It's not as common now as a century ago, but it's a way to merge small packs and strengthen weaker Alphas."

"So, you're getting married?" Stiles asked Derek who shrugged and nodded at the same time. "Huh."

That thought didn't actually hurt.

"When will you be leaving?" Peter asked.

"On Saturday. The ceremony will be the following Saturday night. I thought, maybe, you might send a representative. I...don't want us to be enemies."

Peter smiled. "Neither do I. This is for the best, Derek. My pack and I will keep our ancestral territory safe and you can have a future and a family. Maybe in time one of your cubs will return and mate into our pack. And I think Scott and Allison would enjoy seeing a mating ritual."

There were a few other details to be gone over and papers to sign as to the agreement, along with Derek signing over the deed to the Hale property to Peter and Peter agreeing to transfer a large sum of money to him in Tahoe for both the property and his share of insurance pay-outs, but it went quickly and smoothly. Once everything was executed and notarized by Dr. Deaton, Stiles said goodbye to both Isaac and Derek, Peter actually hugged his nephew, and, then he and Stiles left the clinic and got in Peter's car.

As he pulled out onto the street, the older man said, "Honestly, I did not expect that. I truly had begun to believe he'd fight me tooth and claw until I was forced to kill him."

"But, this is good, right?"

Peter smiled at him and his blue eyes were light with happiness. "Very good. I remember Alisha Kerwin. Even at fourteen she was a pretty, smart and lively young woman, and I could tell Derek liked her. That was before the bitch destroyed everything," he added bitterly.

Stiles patted his arm in comfort, but then drew back when Peter's next question confused him.

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Why would it?"

"Stiles," Peter said patiently, "We all could smell your attraction to him."

He could feel himself flush, but honestly shook his head. "Okay, yeah, in the past, and sure he's gorgeous, but..." He truthfully didn't want Derek anymore than he was normally attracted to handsome guys.

At Peter's knowing glance, he flushed again and thought about the kisses they would share when they reached home.

And, maybe more. It wasn't like the pack didn't know. Pretty hard to keep anything thing like that from werewolves. The day after those first kisses, Scott had confronted him, but not to accuse or plot Peter's death. He'd wanted to make sure Stiles was okay with it.

He was, he really was.

"Should we send the rest of the Pack to their own homes tonight?" Peter murmured.

"Why? It's not like they hide anything they do from us." Stiles grinned and rubbed his hand along Peter's thigh.

"So...tonight?"

"Yep."

They smiled at each other and Peter punched the accelerator and drove through a stop sign.

End


End file.
